Name a teen star more synonymous with the ’90s than Melissa Joan Hart. When her Nickelodeon sitcom Clarissa Explains It All premiered in 1991, it headlined the network’s key Saturday night Snick lineup. Five years later, in 1996, Sabrina the Teenage Witch—the ABC series based on a character from a 30-year-old comic book—made her a household name. For many young girls in the ’90s, Hart was like the girl next door, only famous.
But with success came intense pressure to translate that teen-girl adoration into a lucrative movie career. Hart starred in a few—namely 1999’s Drive Me Crazy, probably most known for its Britney Spears–sung theme song and video—but nothing that truly catapulted her from young star to A-list status.
Two decades later she’s more than okay with that. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a time when the Hollywood ideal centered around skinny body types and low-rise everything, Hart decided that molding herself into that wasn’t worth it.
Instead she got married (Hart and her husband, Mark Wilkerson, celebrated their 17-year anniversary this summer), had children (three sons: Tucker, Mason, and Braydon), and immersed herself in charity work.
And projects kept coming up that felt right for the brand she had already built—accessible, family-friendly, and enjoyable. Holiday in Handcuffs, a 2007 movie for ABC Family, helped launch the Christmas-movie craze as we know it, which then led to the popular sitcom Melissa & Joey, with former Blossom heartthrob Joey Lawrence.
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It was during this time that Hart continued laying the groundwork for what she viewed as her second career: directing. She first stepped behind the camera for an episode of Sabrina in 2001, but her interest in the field goes as far back as 1993, when Hart and her producing partner (and mom) Paula founded Hartbreak Films.
Now, at 44, she says she’s found more creative fulfillment in directing and producing than she did acting. Hart has become a go-to for directing network sitcoms, including Young Sheldon, The Goldbergs, and Schooled. And this year she had a hand in three Lifetime original movies—Feliz NaviDAD, Dear Christmas, and Once Upon a Main Street. Hartbreak Films produced all three, with Hart directing one and starring in another.
And if that wasn’t enough, she recently moved to Nashville, where she’s been busy unpacking and acclimating to her new family home. That’s where we caught up with her to talk about growing up in the spotlight, carving a new path, and why she’s more than happy with how things turned out.
“I’m working and paying my mortgage and am fulfilled creatively,” she says. “It doesn’t worry me that people don’t know what I’m up to.”
Except, here’s why you should know.
Glamour: Was it a coincidence that you ended up working on three holiday movies for Lifetime this year?
Melissa Joan Hart: I love working with Lifetime. My directorial debut for a feature was their 2014 movie The Santa Con, so we had this great relationship. Every year they’d come to Hartbreak and say, “What do you have now?”
This year Mario Lopez wanted me to direct Feliz NaviDAD. And once we got the ball rolling with COVID protocols, we got the opportunity to do more because Lifetime was like, “You can actually do it!” We kept our crew very tight in this lovely bubble we created. By the time we completed the first two movies, Lifetime wanted to do Once Upon a Main Street. We were able to give them three movies out of their slate of 30. I’m really proud of that, and I’m really excited for people to see them.
Jason Priestley stars with you in Dear Christmas, which is also coming out this year on Lifetime. Did you know each other back in the ’90s?
No, isn’t that weird? Back in my Clarissa days, the only time I ever had off was Wednesday evenings. I would get home, make myself a big bowl of cookie dough, and immediately watch Beverly Hills, 90210. I admitted that to him a few days into filming. My 15-year-old self was freaking out. And starting on day one, we were giving away every secret, talking about everyone we have in common. It felt like we’ve known each other forever.
You’ve built a solid, consistent career in the directing and producing space, so does it bother you when people are surprised to hear you’re actively working?
No. I put it on my social media, but unless you’re following me, you really have no idea. I’m proud to say in the last year I directed more than I acted. Of course naysayers say, “You disappeared! You’re not working anymore!” I’m like, “Well, actually, I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing, and what I always dreamt for myself at an older age in this industry.”
What did you want careerwise when you were a teen versus what you want now?
When I was a young teen, I was really aware of the child-star stigma. People will hit it big for one project, and then it’s really hard to work after that. I never expected this to be a lifelong job. I just thought I was lucky I had a show, Clarissa, and that college would lead me to my next career.
Shirley Temple was a huge role model of mine. She went on to be an ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia and get involved with politics and raise her family. She quit at 20, so I thought, I’ll quit at 20. But then my career just kind of kept going when Sabrina hit.
I took a full year off when I had my eldest son in 2006. I’ve always been at these crossroads, where I’m constantly like, Okay, what’s next for me? I’ve never looked at it like a lifelong career, but I also looked up to Malcolm Jamal Warner, Fred Savage, Ron Howard, Henry Winkler—people that went from childhood shows to be directors because you always think, as an actress, When my looks fade, or when I can’t get parts anymore…. I was always looking for the next thing. Directing was always something I wanted to do, but it wasn’t really welcoming to women at the time. But I was able to get my first job directing Sabrina the Teenage Witch in 2001.
So no, it doesn’t worry me that people don’t know what I’m up to currently because I know I’m working and paying my mortgage and am fulfilled creatively. The one thing that bothers me that nobody seems to know is that my mother [Paula Hart] is such a powerhouse behind my career.
I actually knew that, and I’m very proud of myself!
Nobody knows that, though! She found Sabrina. Someone handed the comic book to her on a playground, and she took it to Viacom, made the 1996 movie, and kept saying this would be a great TV show. [Executives] kept going, “Okay, whatever, whatever.” She went to the editing room for the movie and cut together a five-minute trailer for a TV show, took it to the networks, and sold it to ABC on the spot. In the TGIF time slot!
She was an executive producer on the show for seven years, hiring and firing, involved with the music, the editing—the entire aspect of it. I didn’t have to worry about the next thing, because she was in charge of the next thing. I knew my summers were going to be filled with fun movies of playing different kinds of characters, and my fall and winter would be Sabrina.
Then, when the show ended, Holiday in Handcuffs came around. It was almost like the vehicle that started the crazy Christmas-movie craze. [Editor’s note: The project averaged nearly 7 million viewers and is still the highest-rated show on ABC Family to date, coming in second on cable that week only to a record-breaking Monday Night Football telecast on ESPN].
And I give her credit, because when everybody was talking about the Me Too movement, I had to think back. Nothing had ever happened to me like that—no casting-couch situation or place where I felt pressured. I think it was because my mother was always my executive producer and my protector. She was at every meeting with me.
Do you remember a time when you weren’t treated the way you should have been as a young actor, and thought, If I’m ever in that position, I’ll make sure to do this differently?
I wrote about it in my book, and I can think back to certain stories of things that shaped what I did and didn’t want to be like. One example was William Hurt. I did a play with him when I was young [Beside Herself]. I didn’t realize what a big star he was at the time, and he was going through a very public divorce. That was the first time I ever saw paparazzi. I was maybe 9 or 10. Calista Flockhart was also in that cast, and she was the big sister I always wanted. She would take me shopping, and I would have sleepovers at her apartment. She was just an absolute bright spot in my life. I loved her and wanted to be like her. But then, on the other side, I couldn’t seem to get through to William Hurt.
We were doing tons of rehearsals, plays every night, and I would hang out with him and then go back to my mom and say, “I have no idea what he said to me.” My mom went to him, and I don’t know how she worded it, but said something along the lines of “If you could take it down to her level a little bit. She really loves conversations with you, but has a hard time understanding.” He said, “No, if she wants to play with the big boys, she has to learn how to speak like the big boys.” I get that he didn’t want to dumb it down for me, and I don’t know if he was talking to me about politics or the craft of acting, but I was just trying to hold on to these conversations without knowing how to respond.
So I learned to talk to kids like they’re kids. I hate when people bend over to talk to kids. Get down on their level, do a nice deep squat, get those glutes working! Being the oldest of eight children and having three kids of my own, I’m good with kids. I can talk to them and explain what I need or come up with things that make sense to them. I have a lot of moms reach out to me and ask, “Am I doing things right? How did you end up so ‘normal’?” I’m a quick director, and I know what I want. I’m prepared, and I like to get the work done and get people home to their families.
When you were in the process of auditioning for Clarissa, the producers wanted the character to be brunette, but they were so impressed with you that they made the character blond. Were you ever told you needed to change the way you looked or change your image? And if so, how did you stay true to yourself?
Yeah, all the time. Not on Clarissa, for sure. They actually took all of my quirky things and put them in the show. However, I was told I could be a big movie star if I would lose 10 pounds. Things like that. I spent one day trying to be bulimic, and that didn’t work because I hate throwing up. I was like, No, I’m not going to do that. I guess I’m just not going to be a movie star if that’s what it takes.
Were you actually able to say that?
I just was like…I know my agents aren’t going to take me seriously, and they’re not going to send me out on auditions. It sucks, but I’m not going to torture myself for what somebody else thinks will work.
I also changed agents once, and this one walked in late to the meeting, threw a bunch of pictures of me on the conference table, tore out the ones he wanted me to look like and the ones he didn’t want me to look like, and said, “I’m getting you a stylist. Go out and buy a bunch of clothes.” I spent $10,000 on Dolce & Gabbana suits. No joke, 20 years later when I moved to Nashville, I gave all those suits away with the tags still on. Here I bought this whole new wardrobe and I never went on one stinking audition.
I learned quickly that everyone has an idea of what you should be or what they want you to be. To be honest, it’s all about connections, it’s about talent, it’s about the right place at the right time. I wanted to be on Law & Order: SVU, so I put myself at a party with Mariska Hargitay, and I got on SVU. Or I’ve made friends at Lifetime, and now I can go to them. Or I’ve made friends at Netflix, and now we’re developing a show together. It’s about having the connections—whether it’s the writers, great hair and makeup people for projects, or an executive. It’s important to have those connections with people you have a chemistry with and that you trust.
Was that behind the move to Nashville, to be in a more normal environment outside of Los Angeles?
We actually lived in Connecticut for the last 12 years and in Lake Tahoe for two years while I was doing my Netflix show, No Good Nick. Nashville is the closest to a city we’ve been in in a long time. We really like to be out in the outskirts. The kids like to be out in the woods and climbing trees and catching frogs. I grew up that way, so I want them to as well.
The industry has changed so much. I can be anywhere and work. I’m going to direct three episodes of Young Sheldon later this season, so I’ll fly to L.A. for those and then come back. I wanted to take the year off for family except for Lifetime Christmas movies and Young Sheldon. Those were my two goals, and I got them both!
Jessica Radloff is the West Coast editor at Glamour. She recently Zoomed with Hart as part of the 92nd St. Y's In Conversation program, where Hart opened up about '90s crushes, holiday movie secrets, and more.
